


An Afternoon In Scherzo

by 99BottlesOfBeerOnTheWall



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Honestly just wanted to escape the tears, Siblings, Trying to think of happy things, anyone understand the title?, canon typical language, or am i just laughing at myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 04:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9303491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99BottlesOfBeerOnTheWall/pseuds/99BottlesOfBeerOnTheWall
Summary: Vex was always eager to please, perhaps a little too much, certainly long after Vax'ildan had washed his hands of their father. While Vax was playing truant, Vex was still trying her hardest to make a good impression. But being the kind of daughter that her father wanted was exauhsting, especially when her best wasn't enough, and sometimes...well, she would never admit it to her brother's face, but...sometimes she couldn't help prefering Vax's way...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Flying With Mother, from How To Train Your Dragon 2. It was just so happy! A lot of shit's been going down lately, maybe this is just my method of dealing...

It was hot. Baking hot, sweating hot, crack-an-egg-on-the-ground-and-fry-it hot.

Which meant that the twins had to stay inside the school room which was sweltering, endure the heat, and study, of course. Not that Vax had stayed, he'd skipped out as soon as he got the opening, of course. And when he was gone, that left Vex to endure the increasing warmth of the weather, and their tutor's bad temper, alone. Of course.

Of. Course.

Sitting demurely at the desk by the window, which was open in order to coax in the nonexistent breeze, Vex propped her head on one hand and studied. Or rather, she propped her head up, stared blindly past the meaningless words before her, through the pages that stuck to her sweaty fingers, and out through the bottom of the book. At the other end of the long school room, trying not to doze off under the drowsy influence of the summer heat, Master Therondryl was reading in his armchair. Still trying to look busy, the old fool...

The Master's head sagged over his book, and Vex stealthily watched him, tense with carefully contained excitement. If he fell asleep she could quietly read something else for a moment. She was sick of the longwinded history book, droning on and on and on about Syngornian history and dates, while entirely omitting everything outside the elven city. It was too dull for words.

But with a jerk the tutor's head came back up, and Vex instantly fixed her eyes on her book. For all his age Master Therondryl was still sharp eyed as a hawk, especially when he was in a sour mood, and it took Vax all his skill to evade those sharp eyes. Vex didn't trust herself to fool the Master with that kind of talent, and so bent her eyes obediently on her book. She could feel the Master's eyes rest suspiciously on her back, then a faint rustle as the he stealthily settled back into a comfortable position in his chair. Silence.

Then a sound that was like music in Vex's ears as she listened. The wheeze of gentle snoring.

Instantly Vex was clawing through her desk, drawing out the adventure novel she was in the middle of reading. Their father would have called it Trash, Sensationalist Punch, and confiscated it, but she wasn't about to let him know she had it. And, considering it hadn't actually belonged to her in the first place, (Vax had pinched it, putting his dangerously sticky fingers to good use for once), it was in her best interest to keep it hidden anyway.

At that moment something flicked irritatingly against the side of her face, a shriveled Marigold, and she jumped, glancing out at the small garden beyond the window. But nothing was stirring, well, nothing more than a few fat bugs buzzing sleepily among the sunbaked flower beds. It had to be Vax of course, where else would errant flower heads come from? But he'd shirked in the middle of a lesson. If she ignored him, it would pay him out right for abandoning her. He'd have to learn she wouldn't come and go at his beck and call, to be flattered into good humor, and then left to Therondryl's mercy anytime he felt like it.

Not a flower, but a small pebble this time, bounced against the side of her face, and she flinched as it clicked against the floor and scattered off into a corner. Peppering her was one thing, but making noises that could wake their teacher was quite another. That was taking it too far. And if she wanted him to stop, she'd be forced to speak to him, which was what he'd wanted all along of course. 

Of course.

Hauling herself up onto the desk, so that her feet couldn't touch the floor, and her behind was displayed in a most unladylike manner; (if Master Therondryl woke up at this exact moment she'd never hear the end of it), Vex leaned out and over the windowsill. There was Vax, predictably, straddled out in the flowerbed behind the cover of the rose bush, grinning up at her. Putting on her most forbidding expression, Vex'ahlia leaned down dangerously far, in order to whisper. 

"What do you want!?" 

"Come out for a romp!"

"Why should I?"

"It's lovely weather out here, sister." Vax taunted seductively. 

"It's just as lovely inside, thank you very much, _brother._ " Vex retorted sourly, beginning to quietly scramble back through the window. "Anyway, I think I'd far prefer Therondryl's company to yours at the moment, seeing how you shirked all afternoon."

Vax didn't look reproachful, only hurt, stung by her blistering tone. But he might as well have reproached her, for she reproached herself, immediately relenting, just like she always did. If only he had complained, it would have been so much easier to stay angry with him. Half wanting to give in, Vex continued to draw away. Before she could withdraw completely from the window another withered flower struck the side of her face. 

It had been thrown so quickly, she hadn't even seen it coming, and Vax had somehow managed to get both hands behind his head during her split second of recovery. He was grinning at her again, his easy bravado back in all it's irritating recklessness. She growled, but was secretly pleased. Once again, a silent excuse to stay annoyed at him.

"I thought you were more fun than that." Vax reproached teasingly. "You always used to be up for a game. Now you're no fun anymore."

"No. No. No." She hissed, making the words three separate sentences as she leaned down to him. "No, I'm not going to enjoy the weather. No, I'm not skipping out on lessons. No, I'm not coming for a romp. Now stop bothering me!"

"Oh come on, Theron-drone-on is asleep. Nobody will know."

"I, have lessons to do. As, I might add, do you." Vex snarled, leaning further down to hiss in her brother's face, her affection sparked into concern when she remembered all the responsibilities that Vax was ignoring. "I don't have time for romping in the byways, and neither do you, when I think of it. You should be coming inside, is what you should be doing. But as you're a "degenerate Slacker", I'm sure it's no use trying to make you. So if you please, clear out and let me study.

Her brother's face darkened, becoming truly angry when she quoted their father, and he growled fiercely, "I thought you didn't believe that."

"That's...not what I meant to say..."

But she couldn't take it back now. She could see that quite clearly. Vax was so rarely angered, it took a lot to truly incur his bitterness. But when it happened...When he was really and truly offended, when words truly wounded him, he could hold the grudge for months. Stew in his bitter thoughts for weeks on end, inwardly repeating the insults again and again, until they were burned into him. He'd probably forgive her with time, and considering they were twins, it would be sooner rather than later. But she could see from the look on his face that, though he would forgive the words, he would never forget them.

"Mum said "stick together"." Vax said stonily, beginning to wriggle onto his stomach, preparing to leave her.

"No, don't go! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry." Vex'ahlia protested desperately, forgetting in the moment to keep her voice down, and dragging herself dangerously far out the window, in order to grapple his shoulders and hold him back as he wormed away. Holding onto his shoulders with all her might (not only to retain him, but also to support herself as she was now almost three fourths of the way out the window), she apologized again and again, unable to form any coherent thought through her own crippling remorse. It always felt like the world was about to end when Vax was angry with her, and the same panic constricted her breathing now, as she clung to him for support.

She knew when he relented. All the tension drained from his shoulders, and he wormed around in her grasp, to pull her completely out of the window into the flower bed. In the same way he made no protest when she impetuously embraced him, winding her arms around him in a tangle, and squeezed him chokingly tight. She could smell the summer warmth on his skin when she tucked her head into his shoulder, and he propped his mouth against the crown of her head. His hair, which was just as long and thick and black as hers, inevitably tangled in her ears and fingers, warm and dusty with the sun. 

That was how they always made up, after a fight. How they ever did anything really...

The embrace, after the first storm of remorse, felt just as right as it always did. Just as right, just as simple, just as easy. And it didn't matter that they'd been sitting like this for almost five minutes now, it just was. When Vax finally parted from her, when they both finally unwound the tangled mess of hair, limbs, faces, and fingers, it almost felt like Vex was peeling of a bit of her own skin.

 "You need a break Stubby, pouring over books constantly makes you cranky." Vax said, tweaking her ear as they parted, and he slithered off into the shrubs, remarking over his shoulder as he went, "now you can either stay inside all day like a dull-witted idiot...or we can just crack on..." 

And damn it, but somehow Vax'ildan always managed to get his way.

The thought had breezed through her mind, calling up a wry grin, before Vex even stirred. She flitted after him with the same grace, a light footed step born of endless practice. It was hard to live in such a hostile city, if you didn't learn to step a little gingerly. Whether Therondryl would discover her escape, what Father would say about it, how she would ever fake her way through lessons she hadn't studied for, was all beyond her. 

It was easy to escape Syngorn if you tried. There were walls, guards, gates, guards, watchtowers, and more guards. But, Vex reflected with a shade of pride as they flitted over the wall top and melted into the edge of the trees, this was Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia. Watchful eyes were no match for the two of them. And she couldn't help but snicker as she watched the guards on the wall in their endless patrol, oblivious that the watchers were being watched, that two pairs of black eyes were silently laughing at them. 

"They're so unbearably stupid." Vex said pausing under the shelter of a moss covered bolder, and looking back at Syngorn over her shoulder. "What do you imagine it's like? Being one of those idiots...must be pretty dull I imagine, having a tiny brain like that."

"Well you'd be the one to know, wouldn't you."

"Oh you sly devil! Take that back!" Vex scolded laughing incredulously, and lungeing to inflict stinging punishment. 

Vax only laughed in her face, dancing off into the trees, and nimbly keeping out of arms reach. Gathering up pinecones as she chased after him, Vex pelted him from behind. Hours of training made her an excellent shot, and she'd always had a good eye for it anyways, making every toss deadly in its accuracy. Her brother yelped as one struck him squarely in the shoulders, turning to bat another shot away with his arm.

"Come back here an apologize, you little weasel!"

"I'm afraid you'll have to catch me, if you think you can, sister dearest," Vax called back.

The day was warm, but under the shade of the trees it was cool and gray. After the hours of sitting still, this was tantamount to heaven, and soon Vex forgot her grudge. It was too exhausting to keep peppering her brother with pinecones anyway, and soon it was more about the act of stretching her legs instead of chasing headlong after Vax. His pace slowed to match hers as the danger passed, the length of his strides mirroring hers to perfection. It was simple, a silent but perfect harmony, every movement exactly suited to the other's.

An outsider would have called their path meandering, a winding journey with no particular destination. But Vex and Vax were twins after all. They were twins, and these days that meant everything. Nothing else mattered more than that. There was no need to say it out loud, but both of them knew exactly where they were going, following the same invisible path as if it were laid out before them in breadcrumbs like Hansel and Gretel.

Why had Vex'ahlia refused her brother this? How could studying ever mean more than this. She couldn't help but wonder as they walked, silently drinking in the beauty of the trees, soaking it through her skin as if it were a soothing balm. It was like home here, as warm and certain as Vax himself, just as familiar and at the same time mysterious. Every tree had a name, and looking at them sparked instant recognition. There was an elm, and that a cedar, white pines, and birches wherever it was open and sunlit.

They heard a rumor of the stream before they even saw it. The distant chatter through the trees, the appearance of ferns in the sunny patches, thick moss growing on every available surface, and Hemlocks delicately spreading their soft spikes, their ragged tops slouched over like drunken men. Picking their way down a growing incline, Vex struck across a slender deer path, inevitably heading toward the water, and both twins instinctively turned into it, still following the unknown trail.

Striking the water at last brought them to another much sharper decline, the land plunging down into a sheltered gulch along which the stream ran. Still in familiar, often traversed, territory, Vex led a short way upstream until they came across a long fallen log straddling the stream. Vax'ildan danced across it first, lighter and quicker on his feet than Vex, hardly needing to grab for support at all. A little envious of her brother, Vex followed, clinging to the tree branches to keep her supported on the log's slick surface. On the other side the ground was much smoother, and the twins retraced their steps following the creek in its endless downward plunge. 

A final twist of the stream, a short scramble down some water slicked rocks, and the trees suddenly dropped away. Grass started up thick and lush in the strong sunlight, and the stream tumbled down into a small rocky pool before it wound off lazily into the grass, obscured by vegetation. One horny old tree, hardened by open weather and strong sunlight, thrust up its branches at the edge of pond. Low rising mountain peaks, carpeted in thick woodland, rose in the far distance, like some far landscape in a painting. Off in the grass, built up on an embankment, was the road, making its dusty way up toward Syngorn. At the edges of the road daisies started up in thick clusters, their velvet yellow buttons opened jauntily to the sun. 

Vex paused at the edge of the pool, waiting for Vax to scale the last few stones, and looked out over the sun warmed clearing. Finally Vax dropped down beside her, a smug, self satisfied grin lighting up his face. 

"Well Stubby? Bet you're glad you tagged along after all..." 

"This is for calling me stupid. You dick."

And Vex, turning traitor on her brother, suddenly shoved him back into the shallow stream. His look of shock in the split-second fall was priceless, well rewarding her for the effort, then he vanished under the surface. When he rose, spluttering and coughing, Vex planted her feet at the edge of the pool, hands on her hips, and sarcastically laughed in his face.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Vax protested, his language turning foul as it always did when they were alone, and he got excited. He began to struggle toward the edge of the pool, squeezing water out of his hair. "What the hell was that for?!? Jesus, fuck..."

"What goes around comes around baby, and you really need to get a grip on your language."

She wasn't really worried about it, in fact it was almost comforting to hear him swear like a sailor. It was something that their father's self righteous asshole friends with sticks up their butts would find extremely offensive, an unspoken middle finger to traditions, that they indulged in when they were alone. Yet another private joke, that they could keep hidden from the world, like a giant sign screaming "TWINSIES ONLY!"

"Oh, piss off." He growled, taking absolutely no notice of her reprimand.

"You just looked so hot and bothered, I thought you could do with a little dip, and being the loving sister I am, I was happy to oblige."

"It's fucking cold in here! You should give it a try, and see if you're such a smartass then." 

"Well you'd be the one to know, wouldn't you?" 

"Ok, that's it, get over here." 

Just in time Vex dodged backward, narrowly avoiding a cold sweeping splash that fell with a wet slap on the stream bank. With a surge Vax lunged out of the water, no longer bothering with wringing himself out, and scrambled after Vex with water streaming from his clothes. Before she could get away, Vax had tackled her back into the grass, landing on top of her with a slap like a wet fish. Water immediately soaked through her clothes, and Vax straggled his icy cold arms around her shoulders in a clinging grip. 

"Get the hell off of me! You're absolutely soaked, silly boy!" 

"Feel how cold my hands are," Vax said, gloating as he wrapped freezing cold fingers around her face.

"If you don't shift, I'll make you." 

"Ooooh, doesn't that sound intimidating, I'd like to see you try." 

Neither of them was what you'd call particularly beefy, in fact the following wrestling match was something a shade closer to flailing pasta noodles, than anything like wrestling. But when it came to brute strength Vax, weak as he was, still out matched Vex. He won the fight too, and before Vex could do more than scream a pleading protest, he hauled her up off her feet and dumped her in the water. 

It was cold. Almost shockingly so, as the water closed over her head, and her ears went numb. She could see his blackened figure through the water for a moment, then he made a flailing dive after her, seemingly resigned to the fact that he couldn't really get wetter than he was at this point. 

Clawing among the stones at the bottom of the pond, Vex found a particularly large one, and surged to her feet, taking it with her. Hauling it up above the surface, she hefted it for a moment, then threw it at Vax's feet. She wasn't trying to hit him. But as the stone hit the water it sent up a wide splash that splattered across Vax's chest. Both began eagerly hunting for stones, trying their hardest to splash each other, and at a particularly large plume both cheered the other's display. It was only a game, but Vex soon had it down to an exact science, searching in particular for flat heavy stones that would have a wide surface area when they hit the water, and both competed fiercely for the best ammunition. 

At last, hot and tired, the game was abandoned. Breathing hard Vax collapsed at the foot of the tree, and Vex with a few practiced steps, scaled up into the branches, settling on one in the strong sunlight to dry off. Slowly Vex's breathing evened out, and as silence fell, the larger summer sounds began to creep back in upon her notice. Faint rustlings of wind in the grass, the stream's low bubbling, crickets chirping in the underbrush, an unseen birdsong muffled by the summer heat. Stripping leaves from the tree around her, she folded them down tightly, then shredded them one by one. 

For a long time the peace contented her, wrapping around her like a thick hot comforter. But at last, air dried and aching from sitting in the tree so long, Vex dragged herself up to look about her. The sun had shifted a little since their journey began, no longer hanging at noon, but edging more towards two.

"Hey Vax, I wonder if Thirondryl has noticed I'm gone yet..." 

No answer.

It immediately sent panic through her veins, drawing her breath tight with anxiety. Suddenly the absence was overpowering, the very air cold and empty, as if the sunlight had grown chill in an instant. The grassy patch at the tree's foot where he had been was now unoccupied, and even raking the surrounding grass with her eyes didn't produce him. The field around her was completely empty, heartlessly so. 

"Vax?"

The call yielded no answer.

"Vax!"

Dead silence. Growing desperate, Vex deftly climbed to the top of the tree, where the branches were precariously thin. Just barely holding on, Vex brought herself up on tiptoe, once again scanning the grass. 

"VAX!!!"

When an answer still didn't come, she began to scale down the tree. Reaching the ground, Vex'hlia pushed out into the grass, wading through the waist high fronds, and wracking her brains for places her brother would be likely to go. The clearing would of course be the first choice, it was their secret place, they always came here. But where else would he go? He was her twin, he would never go anywhere without her. So why was he missing now? 

Her searching had no real direction, but headed mainly toward the road, and at last she emerged from the grass onto the dusty track. White dust immediately clung to her feet, and the sunlight's baking heat was refracted up at her face. Out of nowhere a heavy force slammed into her back, dragging her to the ground, and she knew from the familiar weight, the familiar boniness, that it had to be Vax.

"Boo!" Vax taunted in her ear. "You really should keep a better lookout sister, somebody could attack you from behind if you're not careful." 

"What the fuck!" Vex burst out angrily, turning over and shoving her brother off. His face fell as she swore in front of him, something she tended to do less than he did, except when she was truly upset. "Mum said stick together, you scared the shit out of me."

Before she could get any farther she was pulled up short by Vax's state. His still damp clothes were caked in dust, a thick mat covering him from head to toe, like a second skin on the outside of his clothes. Pulled off kilter by this spectacle, it took Vex a moment to regain her balance, and she wrinkled her nose scornfully at the dusty mess before her.

"Where the hell were you? I was worried!" 

Vax's answer needed no words. Without speaking he uncoiled a rumpled daisy chain, and silently dropped it around her neck, his eyes downcast as he did so. Looking down at the flowers around her neck, sudden understanding dawned.

Shit.

Instant remorse coursed through her, and she yielded as soon as it did, her anger immediately softening. Just like it always did. It was so hard to stay mad at him. As rumpled as the daisy chain was, it still sent a pang of regret through her, and she  fingered it awkwardly.

The dried out head of a Marigold flicked irritatingly against her forehead. Damn it! How many of those did he _have,_ and where was he even keeping them? Stuffed down his trousers?!? Instantly she was scrabbling for a handful dust to throw at him, not that it could make him any filthier that he already was, but it was the message that counted. Shielding his face with one arm, Vax dived toward another particularly thick well of dust nearby. Vex knew better than to linger for that, and plunged into the grass, stripping off several of the daisy heads to throw at him. Projectile's had always been her specialty anyway. Straightening with a mad grin, and two handfuls of dust, Vax began to come after her. But she'd forgotten their quarrel.

"Vax, get off the road, someone's coming."

He was shaken by the sudden sharp edge to her voice, and would have obeyed her with Vax-like swiftness, but it was already too late. Two carriages, accompanied by several horsemen, were kicking up dust on the road, and the leading vehicle was already drawing to a stop. They'd been seen. 

"What is this? I don't see any city yet Finndran!" One passenger, an elderly human in diplomatic robes, poked his head out the window to scold the coach driver. Then paused at the sight of Vex and Vax, straggling at the edge of the road. "Oh, goodness me! Finndran, you have my apologies, I see why you stopped." 

"Is there something the matter? What is the delay." 

The voice made Vex sick. Of course it had to be Him, and at a time like this too. Of course. Next to her, she saw Vax blanch, then grow stiff with hardened defiance, his knuckles standing out white and hard as his hands clenched into fists. It felt like she was shrinking, it was her way. While Vax became brittle, displaying everything with reckless abandon, she withdrew. Pulled back into herself, and sheltered that little part of her that could be wounded.

His face hardened when he saw them, growing frighteningly cold, as if he could freeze them on the spot with one look. And the truly unsettling thing about his face was not the silent punishment it promised. It was how terrifyingly similar her father and brother's facial expressions were in that moment. Even now, he was still their father, and even when locked in mutual dislike, Vax would always resemble him.

"Well then," the elderly man said, before his eyes truly took Vex in, and his voice faltered, finally noticing the twins' clearly mingled heritage. Then he continued with a little shake of the head to clear it, putting on a kindly smile, "out for a little holiday then? Enjoying the afternoon?"

"My lord, I must apologize, it seems that my, children, are out playing when they should be doing their schoolwork..."

It cut Vex to the heart, that fleeting moments hesitation before the word children. She knew why it was there of course, because he didn't truly consider them _his_ children, even if their existence had come from him. And there was shame in it too, though well hidden. They were the damning proof of his mistake, his moment of weakness, displayed in all their ugliness for the world to see. 

"No need to apologize Syldor! What would youth be without moments of disobedience, without the vigor of spirits!" 

"Indeed sir," their father reluctantly replied.

Suddenly beckoning to Vex, the diplomat leaned further out the window of his carriage and smiled invitingly, clearly wishing to speak to her. As her father made no objection, she unwillingly peeled herself away from her brother, and came up to the old man.

"What is you name my dear?"

"Vex'ahlia..."

"Well, Vex'ahlia, that is very pretty handiwork you've done there," pointing to the daisy chain around her neck. Then he grinned, saying with the air of a fellow conspirator, "far more attractive than dull lessons I imagine, eh?"

"I'm sure she can make up the difference tomorrow." Their father interrupted, before the conversation could continue. "For now, they'd better come along with me, and get back to the house where they belong. You two. My carriage. Now."

When the twins lingered for a moment, he seized their shoulders, and walked one on either side of him back to the carriage. Then with a shove, they both climbed in before him, and he entered last, shutting the door. Vex felt his hand on her shoulder, more shrinking this time, as if he didn't want to touch her, and he forced her down into the seat next to him. At another gesture, Vax took his place opposite. Then the carriage lurched into motion, and their father turned to look out the window, at the dust billowing up from the wheels.

Every line of her fathers frame looked disgusted by their very presence with him. The way he drew away, and looked out the window, as if her preferred that to acknowledging them. How he shrank away from touching her, and how distant he was now. God, but she hated him. And for a moment she envied Vax his mad rush into conflict with their father, because she knew deep down she'd never be able to show the hate like Vax could. 

She jumped slightly, another dried out flower against her face. Glancing at her father, she saw he hadn't noticed, and stealthily lifted her eyes to look at her brother. Vax winked, somehow managing to be roguishly carefree despite the dire situation. Then as she watched, he turned his face slightly toward Syldor, gave him a covert middle finger, and silently mouthed "fuck you." When he turned back to her, his eye brows were raised expectantly, and she nodded her agreement. A kick nudged at the side of her leg, prompting her, and she shrinkingly tore her eyes away from Vax's face.

It was surprisingly easy to do it in the end. So much easier to release her venom when their father wasn't looking, when he was laughably oblivious. She fired off the gesture without a hint of shame, drawing a grin from Vax as she did. And when she silently mouthed "fuck you" tacking on a "bitch" for good measure, it felt so good, she almost said it again and shouted it.

Vax sent her another wink, and when he nudged her leg this time it was a sign of approval. She couldn't help but smile a little. He was a terrible influence on her, and he knew it, of course. But damn, did she love him for it. Maybe she couldn't openly defy their father, not like Vax did, but she could emulate her brother's hate in her own way. Wasn't how they did everything after all?

They were twins, they did everything together. 

**Author's Note:**

> scher·zo: a vigorous, light, or playful composition, typically comprising a movement in a symphony or sonata.


End file.
